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Monday, March 31, 2014

Movie Mondays: Indie Game: The Movie

This week's Random Movie Monday is Indie Game: The Movie. The movie was directed by Lisanne Pajot and James Swirksy and released in September 2012.

Amazon Story line: 'Indie Game: The Movie' is the Sundance Award Winning Feature documentary about Video Game Designers. Indie Game: The Movie is the first feature documentary film about making video games. It looks specifically at the underdogs of the video game industry, indie game developers, who sacrifice money, health and sanity to realize their lifelong dreams of sharing their visions with the world. After two years of painstaking work, designer Edmund McMillen and programmer Tommy Refenes await the release of their first major game for Xbox, Super Meat Boy-the adventures of a skinless boy in search of his girlfriend, who is made of bandages. At PAX, a major video-game expo, developer Phil Fish unveils his highly anticipated, four-years-in-the-making FEZ. Jonathan Blow considers beginning a new game after creating Braid, one of the highest-rated games of all time. Four developers, three games, and one ultimate goal- to express oneself through a video game. Indie Game: The Movie is about the creative process and putting yourself out there through your work. It's a journey many filmmakers, creators, artists, entrepreneurs - many people, can relate to in the digital era.

My Thoughts: Since I enjoy quirky indie games I figured I would check out this movie. I did not realize that it was a documententary but I was immediately pulled in by the characters. The creator behind the game Braid, Jonathan Blow, talks about the success of his game and how he personally was viewed as a jerk just by commenting on others thoughts about his game. At first I was going to agree with everyone but once I noticed the mental anguish of Edmund and Tommy, creators behind Super Meat Boy, I realized that I had no right to judge any of these developers.

You notice Phil Fish, the creator behind FEZ, basically have a breakdown at Pax East when the game keeps having glitches. I actually feel bad for him. He worked for 4 years on this game and the possibility of it not being released due to legal problems with his past partner made you hope for him to win.

The dynamic between Edmund and Tommy was great. Those two needed each other as Tommy was often at the end of this rope with the process of making Super Meat Boy. There are times that you are concerned for Tommy's mental health as he talks about wanting to give up. You cheer for them as their game is finally released and its success. I am happy to have watched this movie and recommend it to anyone, gamer and non-gamer alike. This movie gives you insights into the development of indie games and is great to understand the drama behind the games you play. Check it out and share your thoughts in the comments.